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Home / Screen Recording / 2025 | How to Trim Instagram Story Video on Computer/Mobile

2025 | How to Trim Instagram Story Video on Computer/Mobile

By Charlotte | Follow twitter | Updated on April 11, 2025
Introduction:
Instagram Stories allows users to upload up to 15 seconds per clip and 60 seconds per story. If your video exceeds that limit, you have to edit the video length to post. Cutting a longer video to a shorter one can also keep your audience more focused and engaged. Read this AWZWare guide article to learn how to trim an Instagram story video with the built-in feature and external video trimmers. You’ll find the methods for Windows, Mac, Android, and iPhone.
summary

How to Trim a Video on Instagram Story

Instagram offers a built-in video editor for MP4 and MOV-supported videos. It lets you shorten a video on Instagram for Stories using the trimming tool and apply filters. So you don’t have to download third-party software. The editing function also supports text, music, caption, sticker, and GIF adding. You can post your Reels as Stories if needed.  

Browse the below guidance on how to trim an Instagram story video on your iPhone or Android.

Step 1: Hit the plus icon, choose Reel instead of STORY, and record or upload a video longer than 1 minute;

Step 2: Tap Edit video at the bottom left and drag the start and end sliders to cut the video on your Instagram story;

How to Trim a Video on Instagram Story

Step 3: Make further edits if needed, hit the top Arrow, and click Next;

Step 4: Download and save the trimmed video to your gallery;

Step 5: Back to the Story filming interface, upload the shorter video to post as a story.

The trimming tool designed to trim videos in Instagram Story seems to be removed due to updates. That gets users very annoyed, but luckily, you can turn to the Reels cutting tool. So, the above steps enable you to trim a reel or cut videos on Instagram for a story. This way, you can also find the options for splitting and cropping a video. In addition, you can play with the following introduced methods for a computer or mobile phone.

In case you can still shorten a video on Instagram story using the trimming feature, here is another workflow: tap the + icon to choose Story, hit the scissors or trim icon, and drag the sliders to choose the beginning and end parts to cut off, then click the white Arrow at the bottom to post the video.

How to Trim Instagram Story Video on Windows and Mac

If you don’t want the unfriendly built-in tools to trim videos on Instagram Stories, this part comes into play. The four video cutters for PCs, Mac, Android, and iOS are all free, so users can have their content ready to go before uploading.

AWZ Screen Recorder

AWZ Screen Recorder provides basic video post-production features for even novice users to start quickly. Regardless of the Windows or Mac version, it allows you to cut videos for your Instagram story for free. The free version also lets you record screens with audio and take screenshots. No watermark is added to the exported files.

Here is a breakdown of how to trim an IG story video using the AWZ Screen Recorder.

Step 1: Download, install, and open the AWZ Screen Recorder on your PC or laptop;

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Step 2: Click Quick Tools to choose the Video Editor tool;

How to Trim Instagram Story Video on Windows and Mac 1

Step 3: Import the Instagram story you wish to cut the length of;

Step 4: Click and drag the two sliding buttons to determine which durations to delete;

How to Trim Instagram Story Video on Windows and Mac 2

Step 5: Click Export, select the saving location, trim the video for the Instagram story, and save it.

Photos App

The Windows Photos app is another of the best video editing software with no watermark added to output videos. The native utility isn’t that powerful but allows you to trim an Instagram story video. It comes with the Windows 10 and Windows 11 operating systems. It can save a frame from a video and allows importing subtitle files.

Dive into how to trim the length of a video on Instagram on your Windows with the Photos app.

Step 1: Download the Instagram video you need to trim and right-click the file in File Explorer;

Step 2: Choose Open with > Photos;

Step 3: Click Trim on the top, and choose the duration you want to keep by dragging the two slides;

How to Trim Instagram Story Video on Windows

Step 4: Click the play icon to preview the video, then click Save as copy to cut the Instagram story video and save.

How to Cut Video for Instagram Story on Android and iPhone

Instagram Stories itself allows you to trim videos for free but it might be inconvenient for users to open and close the trimmer tool. An alternative fix is to get the most of your phone’s preinstalled functionality.  

Gallery

If you can’t find the Instagram feature to trim story videos, trim them offline before opening the platform. Gallery is your primary choice for Android users if you are reluctant to install external software. The app lets you view, collect, and share photos and videos. It has a cropper, filters, text adding and other useful options.

Discover how to trim an Instagram story video on Android with Gallery.

Step 1: Access the video you would like to trim and share as a story on Instagram in Gallery;

Step 2: Open the video, and click the pencil - the editing icon at the bottom;

Step 3: Tap the scissor trimming icon, then slide the timeline bar to change the start and end of your video;

How to Cut Video for Instagram Story on Android

Step 4: Hit the More icon to select Save as copy.

iMovie

iMovie escapes you from the struggling on how to trim videos in Instagram Story on an iPhone. The iPhone movie maker lets you create videos from scratch and edit video clips and photos easily. It allows you to adjust video speed, and add filters, zoom effects, and backgrounds.

Step 1: Launch the video editing app, and choose Movie in the pop-up Start New Project interface;

Step 2: Select the specific video saved on your iPhone, and move the slide handles where you like to cut out;

Step 3: Tap the checkmark to confirm your video clip, and click the bottom Create Movie;

How to Cut Video for Instagram Story on iPhone

Step 4: Playback the video and if no problem, touch Done to finally trim your Instagram story video on your iPhone and save or share it.

Final Words

When it comes to how to trim a story video on Instagram, the straightforward way is the Instagram trimming feature. A story video longer than 60 seconds will be split automatically into multiple 15-second clips. Video trimming removes awkward pauses and benefits a lot more. If you plan to be a content creator, it pays to invest in a professional and cost-effective editor software.

FAQs

Q:How do I trim a reel on the Instagram story?

If your video is too long to post as a reel, open Instagram, click the plus icon, choose REEL, add the video you recorded, click Edit video > Edit (the scissor), and pull the slides to the left or right, click Next to trim the Instagram reel for posting as a story.  

If you want to trim posted reels for sharing on Instagram story, navigate to the reel video on IG, click the three dots icon, hit Delete > Move it to drafts, move to Instagram Reels tab to open the video in drafts, click Edit and edit the video to cut reels and post on Reels or for Instagram story.

Q:Why can’t I trim my video on Instagram Story?

Some users complaint that they can’t trim videos on Instagram Stories because the trimming option is gone. You can download your video, and then use the reel editing tool to trim. Open the reel recording interface, upload the video, and start editing.

If your video length exceeds the 15-second limit, your video will be cut off on Instagram story into smaller clips by default. The maximum story video length is 60 seconds so your reposted Instagram story will be cut off into 4 parts each of which is 15 seconds. For videos longer than 1 minute, you can also trim or split it with the Gallery on Android, iMovie on iPhone, and AWZ Screen Recorder for Windows and Mac.

Charlotte has been in the software industry for 8+ years. She works for AWZWARE now as a passionate writer. She is good at providing simple guides to use various video, office and entertainment software. Charlotte also recommends many other useful tools to make your work and life easier. A food lover too.

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